PalmSource unplugs Palm OS 6

PalmSource used its first European Developer Conference this week to give a sneak preview of the next version of its operating system for PDAs, smart phones and an increasing variety of other devices. PalmSource says its focus with Palm OS 6 is less on the applications than on providing the best, most flexible and most developer friendly environment for its licensees. From its beginnings as a platform for PDAs, the OS now underpins smartphones, a word processor for education use, a handheld gaming device, and a number of devices designed for specific industrial and business applications. ...more

From the cradle to the mobile phone

Believe it or believe it not, but it seems that that electronics company Siemens is targeting its latest mobile phone at toddlers. News has trickled in via a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, which quotes a report in Danish newspaper Berlingske Tiden that the company is testing a handset in Germany which features big, child-sized buttons and weighs 200g. The new Leonie phone could hit European shelves next year and backs up the trend that youngsters are more interested in technology than playing with their toys. ...more

Spam allegations backfire

US anti-spam organisation the Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS) is being counter-sued by software tool kit developer Black Ice for placing it on its Blackhole list. The Blackhole list is widely used by companies, including Hotmail, to screen junk email. MAPS had been under fire from a number of companies that ended up on the list and earlier this year sought a ruling from the California court that it was not breaking any laws. ...more

Analysis: Back on the broadband wagon

ADSL2+ might be making the headlines, but Britain isn't catching up with the leading broadband nations, reports Stephen Bruce Everyone from telephone companies and ISPs to early adopters and broadcasters are talking up the next generation of DSL broadband services. But how long will we have to wait for these services to arrive? Broadband uptake has spread across Britain (nearly doubling last year and now totalling some five million connections in the UK), but bandwidth-hungry users are already impatiently waiting for the next raft of services - such as television on demand - which could be carried over high-speed ADSL2+. These connections are already widely available in Europe, with France and Italy leading the way, but the first trials in the UK were launched only last month. ...more

BT details next-gen network roll out

BT has announced details of the first stage of its transition to its 21st century network (21CN), its new Ethernet-based network infrastructure designed to improve the performance and security of voice, data and video communications. From late November, the telecoms operator, working with other communications providers, will begin the planned upgrade of customers and their voice and broadband services, in Cardiff and the surrounding area. Customers will not have to do anything for their lines to be upgraded; telephone numbers will not change and with all work being carried out at exchanges no roads will have to be dug up. ...more